New media has vastly expanded the way companies and otherwise, people can reach and connect to consumers. Businesses and organizations are no longer limited to just a few forms of advertising. Thanks to algorithms and mass amounts of data collected about each individual these companies are able to be more direct when targeting their consumers. The relationships between consumers and companies have changed has as well. Consumers now have more power and say in how the company shifts their vision towards the future. We can simply go online and talk about how we feel about a certain brand. That post can be shared with millions of people overnight. This could positively or negatively impact the company. As much as this has helped bigger corporations, new media have also helped small businesses. In particular, the way they can connect with their consumers. For example, according to the article titled, "How to build a community", one business began collected it's users' email and adding them to their newsletter. Furthermore, they would market all of their social media handles so their customers can connect with them on all different types of sites. The business owner says this has allowed them to build more meaningful connections with their consumers without physical presence.
One key benefit of these technologies is that it has eliminated our borders with one another. We are able to communicate with one another quite instantly even though we are thousands of miles away. Information can also be spread very quickly - this can also be a con depending on the type of information. But on the bright side, if there's something everyone should be aware of this spreading of information in a short period of time can be proven useful and possibly save millions of lives. Furthermore, at least with the younger generations, it has helped us understand that we have more in common than different. However, with every pro, there must be some con. The two main issues with these technologies are privacy and the rise of misinformation. Our governments have not been doing such a great job expanding the rules as to how these organizations should be regulated so it's up to these companies to decide how and what the rules should be. For the first point, privacy has been a keen issue surrounding a lot of these tech companies, particularly Facebook. In an Atlantic article, the author mentions how once you post a photo on the internet it'll be hard to retrieve those rights. People will save your post and will share it elsewhere, regardless of the rules. For the second point, because these algorithms tailor everything for each person, everyone's social becomes their own digital fingerprint. Not one person's feed will look the same as another. Furthermore, depending on the content that you follow this might lead you towards more radical ideas as you spend more and more time on the app.
In the future, I hope the government begins to take a stronger approach with regulating tech companies and how new tech companies emerge. The regulations that the government starts putting in place should favor that of consumer and new companies should develop their technologies surrounding those rules. There should be a balance between innovation and personal privacy.
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One key benefit of these technologies is that it has eliminated our borders with one another. We are able to communicate with one another quite instantly even though we are thousands of miles away. Information can also be spread very quickly - this can also be a con depending on the type of information. But on the bright side, if there's something everyone should be aware of this spreading of information in a short period of time can be proven useful and possibly save millions of lives. Furthermore, at least with the younger generations, it has helped us understand that we have more in common than different. However, with every pro, there must be some con. The two main issues with these technologies are privacy and the rise of misinformation. Our governments have not been doing such a great job expanding the rules as to how these organizations should be regulated so it's up to these companies to decide how and what the rules should be. For the first point, privacy has been a keen issue surrounding a lot of these tech companies, particularly Facebook. In an Atlantic article, the author mentions how once you post a photo on the internet it'll be hard to retrieve those rights. People will save your post and will share it elsewhere, regardless of the rules. For the second point, because these algorithms tailor everything for each person, everyone's social becomes their own digital fingerprint. Not one person's feed will look the same as another. Furthermore, depending on the content that you follow this might lead you towards more radical ideas as you spend more and more time on the app.
In the future, I hope the government begins to take a stronger approach with regulating tech companies and how new tech companies emerge. The regulations that the government starts putting in place should favor that of consumer and new companies should develop their technologies surrounding those rules. There should be a balance between innovation and personal privacy.
Link Citations:
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